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Abstract:

The present invention is a method and apparatus for quickly, reliably, and
inexpensively evacuating air from ordinary re-sealable plastic bags
without employing special adapters to interface with vacuum pumps. The
system consists of a vacuum pump, an outer re-sealable plastic bag that
acts as a flexible vacuum chamber, a vacuum tray that fits inside the
outer plastic bag and prevents the outer bag from collapsing onto the
vacuum port. Users operate the system by inserting the re-sealable bag to
be evacuated inside the outer plastic bag until the seal of the inner bag
is in the proper sealing position inside the vacuum tray. The user then
seals the outer bag, turns on the vacuum pump and allows the vacuum
process to run to completion, during which the re-sealable inner bag is
automatically sealed by the device. The user then opens the outer plastic
bag and removes the vacuum-packed inner bag.

Claims:

1. A method for evacuating air from a re-sealable plastic bag by,placing
the re-sealable bag, partially opened, inside a vacuum chamber,evacuating
the vacuum chamber prior to closing the re-sealable bag,automatically
closing the seal of the re-sealable bag prior to removing the vacuum.

2. A method according to claim 1 in which the vacuum chamber has flexible
walls that allow the chamber to collapse onto the re-sealable bag inside
and force excess air out of the bag during the vacuuming operation.

3. A method according to claim 1 in which the vacuum chamber has flexible
walls that allow the chamber to collapse onto the seal of the re-sealable
bag inside and automatically close the seal of the re-sealable bag when
the desired vacuum level has been reached.

4. A method according to claim 1 in which the vacuum chamber incorporates
apparatus inside the vacuum chamber that prevents the vacuum chamber from
collapsing over the port of the vacuum chamber prior to reaching the
desired vacuum level.

5. Apparatus for evacuating air from a re-sealable plastic bag
comprising,a vacuum chamber that is large enough to accommodate the
re-sealable plastic bag,a vacuum pump that draws a vacuum on the vacuum
chamber,a means for automatically closing the re-sealable plastic bag
inside the vacuum chamber after the desired vacuum level is reached,
without opening the vacuum chamber and without releasing the vacuum prior
to closing the seal on the re-sealable plastic bag.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, in which the walls of the vacuum
chamber are flexible enough to allow them to collapse onto the
re-sealable plastic bag when a vacuum is drawn.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising,a means inside the
vacuum chamber that prevents the vacuum chamber from collapsing over the
port of the vacuum chamber prior to reaching the desired vacuum level.

8. Apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising,a means inside the
flexible vacuum chamber that prevents the walls of the flexible vacuum
chamber from collapsing over the vacuum chamber port prior to reaching
the desired vacuum level,a mechanical apparatus inside the flexible
vacuum chamber that activates the sealing mechanism of the re-sealable
plastic bag and automatically closes the re-sealable plastic bag.

[0002]This invention relates to evacuating air from ordinary re-sealable
plastic bags without modifying the bags to mate with vacuum apparatus.
More particularly, this invention relates to enclosing re-sealable bags
in a larger re-sealable plastic bag that is married to a vacuum pump that
simultaneously evacuates air from both the inner and outer re-sealable
bags. This system allows users to vacuum pack food and other items in
ordinary re-sealable plastic bags, without incurring the costs of more
expensive special re-sealable plastic bags that have been modified to
mate with vacuum apparatus. In addition, this system affords users more
space inside the re-sealable bags since none of the bags' internal space
is taken up by vacuum ports or other features that enable interfacing
with external vacuum apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003]Re-sealable plastic bags are widely used to preserve food. Such bags
are referred to as "re-sealable plastic bags" and typically have a mating
male rib or bead and female channel extending along the opening of the
bag that form an airtight closure when pressed together along the length
of the bag seal. Naito, U.S. Pat. No. RE 28,969 discloses an example of
an airtight profile closure used in the ZIPLOC.R®. storage bag. The
airtight closure is typically formed as an integral part of the bag and
allows products stored in the bag to be easily removed and re-stored.

[0004]Re-sealable plastic bags help preserve food by limiting the amount
of oxidizing air to which the food is exposed. However, since ordinary
re-sealable bags expose the food inside to the air entrapped in the bags,
it is desirable to evacuate or vacuum seal the bag. In sealing such
re-sealable bags, users typically manually squeeze air from the bag while
simultaneously closing the opening. Unfortunately, some air remains in
the bag, and air can re-enter and become trapped in the bag during the
initial sealing or re-sealing process.

[0005]Others have attempted to overcome problems associated with manually
sealing re-sealable bags by modifying the closure, providing specially
designed bags, or providing bag attachments for evacuating the bag.

[0006]Kugler, U.S. Pat. No. 3,339,606 discloses a tongue and grove profile
closure wherein the tongue thickness is less than the width of the
groove, and a releasable pressure sensitive adhesive is provided to keep
the tongue within the groove. Adhesives, however, are difficult to apply,
and may cause undesirable problems by sticking to other bags or surfaces.

[0007]Goto et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,701,996 discloses a specially designed
snap-fastener bag having an air evacuation passage along a bottom-seal
and a conventional snap fastener along the bag opening. The air
evacuation passage has an opening through one side of the bag and a
sticky substance is disposed in the passageway to adhere the top and
bottom surfaces of the plastic film of the bag after manually evacuating
the bag.

[0008]Cox, U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,752, and Lambert, U.S. Pat. No. 6,085,906
disclose specially constructed vacuum storage bags having an integrally
formed flexible conduit directed through the bag and into the interior of
the bag, and sealing strips positioned within or on the exterior of the
conduit so that pressure applied to an exterior of the conduit will cause
the conduit to collapse and engage the conduit sealing strips and prevent
fluid flow through the conduit.

[0009]Tretina, U.S. Pat. No. 7,389,629 discloses a portable, hand-operated
vacuum pump designed to interface with re-sealable plastic bags that
incorporate a simple one-way vacuum value. The disadvantages of this
approach are that the system requires users to purchase special
re-sealable bags, and the said vacuum valves reduces the amount of
available storage volume inside the bags.

[0010]Kaufman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,253 discloses a vacuum device for
freezer bags which includes a hollow retainer member designed to mate
with the open end of the bag, and a cap member designed to make an
airtight connection with the outside surface of the retainer. A flexible
tube extends downwardly through the bottom end of the cap member and
upwardly above the cap member, and a valve is provided on the upward part
of the tube. The open end of the bag is inserted through the hollow
retainer and draped over the top end of the retainer, and the cap is
mounted over the top surface of the retainer and the open end of the bag
in airtight manner so that the tube passage makes an airtight connection
with the interior of the bag. Air is withdrawn from the container through
the tube, and the valve on the tube is then closed to close the tube
passage.

[0011]Others have attempted to overcome problems associated with manually
sealing conventional re-sealable bags by providing nozzle attachments
that are connected to a household vacuum cleaner hose for evacuating the
bag. Such systems require users to handle bulky vacuum cleaners to
perform a simple kitchen task.

[0012]Brown, U.S. Pat. No. 6,763,857 discloses a vacuum attachment for use
with a vacuum hose and a vacuum device, and a conventional plastic food
storage bag. The vacuum attachment has one hollow attachment for joining
the vacuum attachment to the vacuum hose, and a cylindrical member for
inserting the vacuum attachment into the bag. The vacuum attachment may
also have an air flow blocker for blocking the air flow between the bag
and the vacuum attachment. The air flow blocker is a hollow cylindrical
cap with a closed end, and may be equipped with an opening or a filter.

[0013]Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,217 discloses a vacuum sealing method and
nozzle adaptor apparatus for sealing a container such as a zipper-type
plastic bag. The nozzle adapter has an elongated nozzle end for insertion
into the container or bag and a larger vacuum hose for connecting to an
existing vacuum source such as household vacuum cleaner. The elongate end
of the nozzle is placed in the bag, the bag is sealed as completely as
possible around the nozzle, and the vacuum source is turned on. After the
air is withdrawn from the bag, the nozzle is quickly removed from the bag
and the open portion of the zipper-type seal is quickly engaged before a
substantial amount of air can return into the bag.

[0014]Lau, U.S. Pat. No. 5,287,680 employs a hand-held battery operated
vacuum packing device for evacuating and sealing conventional plastic
bags. The device has a housing with a pair of jaws mounted on a lever
with a slot between the said jaws and lever through which the edges of
the bag are pulled to press the edges together. A nozzle extends
outwardly from the housing and an air extractor fan in the housing sucks
air from the bag just prior to sealing. With the jaws in an open
position, the two mating edges of the bag are threaded together into the
slot between the two jaws, and the nozzle is placed in the bag. The lever
is then operated to close the jaws. The bag and the vacuum packing device
are then pulled in opposite directions, so that the two edges of the bag
are pulled past the nozzle and through the slot into sealing engagement
with one another. When the bag is nearly completely sealed along its
opening, the extractor fan is operated to extract air from the bag
through the nozzle. The lever is then released to open the jaws and the
nozzle is withdrawn, and the bag manually sealed.

[0015]Nguyen, U.S. Pat. No. 7,316,101 attempts to minimize the flow of air
back into a sealed plastic bag by depositing a fluid along the seal to
improve its leak resistance, and inserting a hollow vacuum tube in the
corner of the bag to evacuate the bag. Users manually apply pinching
pressure to sandwich the evacuation tube between the unclosed portion of
the seal to prevent air from escaping. After a vacuum is drawn in the
bag, users must quickly pull out the evacuation tube so that the pinching
pressure is transferred to the closure thereby closing the unclosed
portion of the seal. This process not only allows air to reenter the bag
while the probe is being withdrawn, but also runs the risk of
contaminating the contents of the bag with micro-organisms that may be on
the probe.

[0016]A variety of specially designed large storage bags having air valve
arrangements are also known in the art, such as disclosed in Yeager, U.S.
Pat. No. 5,829,884 and Koyanagi, U.S. Pat. No. 6,499,600, have been
proposed for the purpose of removing air from the storage bags in order
to reduce the volume of an item, such as clothing, inside the bag to
minimize required storage space.

[0017]A variety of combination vacuum and heat sealing devices are known
in the art. Most of these types of heat sealing devices are not well
suited for conventional re-sealable plastic bags because the heat source
typically burns through conventional thin-walled re-sealable bags.
Further, such heat-sealing systems are relatively expensive, and their
large size prohibits them from being stored in ordinary kitchen drawers.

[0018]Accordingly, a need exists for a vacuum sealing system that allows
users to vacuum pack the contents of re-sealable flexible plastic bags
without experiencing the drawbacks of existing art.

[0019]The present invention is distinguished from prior art in general,
and these cited patents in particular, by a vacuum sealing method and
apparatus that can be used with ordinary re-sealable plastic bags. The
system does not require modifying the bags or inserting any type of
vacuum probe or adapter into the bags, thereby reducing both cost and
complexity while simultaneously improving reliability and ease of use.

[0020]The present vacuum sealing method and apparatus for evacuating air
from re-sealable plastic bags overcomes the problems with prior art by
enclosing the re-sealable bag inside a larger vacuum chamber that
evacuates air from the entire system. Further, the system automatically
closes the re-sealable bag when the desired vacuum level is reached. This
automatic closure feature is very important because once the bag
collapses around its contents; the seal becomes immobile, and cannot be
moved by hand. The collapsed bag freezes the seal in place whether or not
the seal is closed or open. If the seal is not closed, then the vacuum
will be lost when the inner bag is removed from the vacuum chamber.
Although the sealing action may be accomplished using mechanical devices
that feed through the walls of a rigid vacuum chamber, a simpler and more
effective approach is to employ a vacuum chamber having flexible walls,
and containing apparatus inside the vacuum chamber that automatically
performs the sealing operation. A practical way of implementing a
flexible vacuum chamber is to employ a larger, flexible re-sealable bag
as the vacuum chamber. However, such a system requires preventing the
flexible wall of the vacuum chamber from prematurely collapsing around
the vacuum port and stopping the vacuum process before reaching the
desired vacuum level. The present system prevents such uncontrolled
collapse of the flexible vacuum chamber by incorporating a structure
inside the vacuum chamber that controls the way the larger bag collapses
around the inner bag and vacuum port. This inner structure is referred to
as a vacuum tray and incorporates all of the features needed to quickly,
reliably, and inexpensively perform the vacuuming and sealing operations.
Such features include a vacuum port; a frame that prevents the outer bag
from collapsing around the vacuum port; a well that collects fluids that
may be forced from the inner re-sealable bag and prevents aspiration of
fluids into the vacuuming apparatus; a shelf for sealing the inner
re-sealable bag, a ramp that guides the inner bag onto the sealing shelf;
components that cause the collapsing outer bag to activate the sealing
mechanism of the inner bag; and a means for inexpensively mating the
outer bag and vacuum port to external vacuuming apparatus.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0021]This invention is a method and apparatus for quickly and
inexpensively exhausting air from ordinary re-sealable plastic bags. This
invention solves the problem of vacuum packing machines only working with
special bags provided by the manufacturer of the vacuuming apparatus.
This invention also solves the problem that general purpose vacuuming
machines, such as vacuum cleaners, require special adapters to interface
with ordinary re-sealable bags, with different adapters needed for
different bags and different bag sizes. This invention allows users to
vacuum pack any commercially available re-sealable plastic bag, without
using any special adapters to interface the system to the re-sealable
bag. This invention works by inserting the re-sealable bag to be vacuumed
into a larger re-sealable bag that constitutes a flexible vacuum chamber.
Air is then evacuated from the flexible vacuum chamber, which collapses
around the open inner re-sealable bag, thereby creating a vacuum in the
inner re-sealable bag as well. As it collapses, the larger re-sealable
bag activates the sealing mechanism of the inner re-sealable bag, thereby
closing it shut, and preserving the vacuum. The inner re-sealable bag is
then removed from the outer re-sealable bag.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022]FIG. 1A is a schematic of the vacuum tray, 1, that shows its
principal features

[0023]FIG. 1B shows the large vacuum bag, 8, which serves as a flexible
vacuum chamber

[0026]FIG. 3 shows the complete assembly after the vacuum tray, 1, has
been mated to the vacuum hose, 7, and the expanded vacuum bag, 16, and
the filled re-sealable bag, 17 has been inserted into the system.

[0027]FIG. 4 shows the complete assembly after a vacuum has been drawn on
the system.

[0028]FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the invention having an inclined
sealing shelf, 4.

[0030]FIG. 7 shows the preferred embodiment of the invention for
re-sealable bags that close without zippers.

[0031]FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the invention designed to work with
re-sealable bags that incorporate zippers in the sealing mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032]This invention takes advantage of a key principle of physics: All of
the space inside a vacuum chamber experiences the same vacuum level. This
means that if an open re-sealable bag and its contents are placed inside
a vacuum chamber, the inside of the re-sealable bag will be evacuated to
the same level as rest of the space inside the vacuum chamber. Secondly,
since there will always remain some amount of air in the vacuum chamber,
and the air density will be uniform throughout the vacuum chamber, the
amount of residual air trapped inside the re-sealable bag can be
minimized by squeezing the re-sealable bag down to its smallest possible
volume prior to re-sealing the bag. This translates into making the
re-sealable plastic bag conform as closely as possible to its contents.
Accordingly, the optimal method of evacuating a re-sealable bag is to
place the opened bag inside a collapsible vacuum chamber, draw down a
vacuum, allow the collapsible vacuum chamber to force the re-sealable bag
to shrink around its contents, and then seal the bag prior to releasing
the vacuum. The present invention automatically accomplishes all of these
steps, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

[0033]FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, and FIG. 1c show the three major components of the
system. The system us assembled by inserting the vacuum tray, 1, shown in
FIG. 1A, through the open vacuum bag seal, 9, shown in FIG. 1B, into the
vacuum bag, 8, shown in FIG. 1B. The barbed tray port, 3, shown in FIG.
1A, pierces the closed end of the vacuum bag, 8, shown in FIG. 1B, to
allow the tray port, 3, to mate with a vacuum source. The re-sealable
bag, 14, shown in FIG. 1c, contains the material to be vacuum packed and
is inserted through the open vacuum bag seal, 9, shown in FIG. 1B, until
it rests on the sealing shelf, 4, shown in FIG. 1A.

[0034]FIG. 1A shows the principal features of the vacuum tray, 1. The
purpose of the tray frame, 2, is to surround the tray port, 3, on three
sides and prevent the vacuum bag, 8, shown in FIG. 1B, from collapsing
around the tray port, 3, during the vacuum packing operation. Without the
tray frame, 2, the tray port, 3, would become clogged by the vacuum bag,
8, shown in FIG. 1B, and the vacuuming process would be prematurely
stopped. The dimensions of the tray frame, 2, are scaled by the size of
the vacuum bag, 8, shown in FIG. 1B, so as to take up most of the lateral
space inside the vacuum bag, 8, but not be so tight as to prevent the
vacuum bag, 8, from collapsing around the re-sealable bag, 14, shown in
FIG. 1B, when a vacuum is drawn.

[0035]Although FIG. 1B depicts the height of the tray frame, 2, as
uniform, in general the height will not be uniform but tailored to
control how the vacuum bag, 8, shown in FIG. 1B, collapses around the
re-sealable bag, 14, shown in FIG. 1c, and exerting pressure against the
re-sealable bag seal, 15, shown in FIG. 1c. Specifically, the height of
the tray frame, 2, near the open end of the vacuum tray, 1, may be made
higher than that of other parts of the tray frame, 2, to prevent the
vacuum bag, 8, shown in FIG. 1B, from prematurely collapsing on the
re-sealable bag seal, 15, shown in FIG. 1c, and trapping excess air
inside the re-sealable bag, 14.

[0036]FIG. 1A shows that the tray port, 3, is protected on its forth side
and its bottom by the sealing shelf, 4, and tray well, 6, respectively.
Collectively, the tray frame, 2, sealing shelf, 4, and tray well, 6, only
allow the vacuum bag, 8, shown in FIG. 1B, to approach the tray port, 3,
from the top. The downward movement of the vacuum bag, 8, during the
vacuum operation is not sufficient to allow the vacuum bag, 8, to contact
the tray port, 3.

[0038]The tray well, 6, shown in FIG. 1A, collects fluids that may be
forced from the re-sealable bag, 14, shown in FIG. 1c, during the
vacuuming process and prevents such fluids from being aspirating into the
electric vacuum pump, 11.

[0039]Users carry out the vacuum packing operation by placing food or
other material into the re-sealable bag, 14, shown in FIG. 1c, leaving
the re-sealable bag seal, 14, partially open. Next, the user inserts the
re-sealable bag, 14, shown in FIG. 1c, through the open vacuum bag, 8,
shown in FIG. 1B, until the re-sealable bag seal, 15, shown in FIG. 1c,
rests on the sealing shelf, 4, shown in FIG. 1A. The user then turns on
the vacuum source that is connected to the tray port, 3, shown in FIG.
1A, and leaves it on until the desired level of vacuum is obtained. As
the vacuum increases, the top of the vacuum bag, 8, shown in FIG. 1B,
collapses down onto the sealing shelf, 4, shown in FIG. 1A, and presses
against the re-sealable bag seal, 15, shown in FIG. 1c. The pressure
generated by the collapsing vacuum bag, 8, automatically closes the
re-sealable bag seal, 15. This automatic closure feature is very
important because once the re-sealable bag, 14, collapses around its
contents; the re-sealable bag seal, 15, becomes immobile, and cannot be
moved by hand. The collapsed bag freezes the re-sealable bag seal, 15, in
place whether or not the re-sealable bag seal, 15, is closed or open. If
the re-sealable bag seal, 15, is not closed, then the vacuum will be lost
when the re-sealable bag, 14, is removed from the vacuum bag, 8. To
complete the vacuuming process, the user turns off the vacuum source,
opens the vacuum bag seal, 9, shown in FIG. 1B, and removes the vacuumed
re-sealable bag, 14, shown in FIG. 1c.

[0040]FIG. 2 shows the vacuum bag, 8, prior to assembly to the other
components of the system. The vacuum bag, 8, features a re-sealable
vacuum bag seal, 9, and servers as the flexible vacuum chamber.

[0041]FIG. 3 shows the details of the airtight connection between the
system and a vacuum source. The airtight connection between the tray
port, 3, vacuum hose, 7, and expanded vacuum bag, 16, is formed
automatically during the assembly process. When the tray port, 3, is
forced through the closed end of the expanded vacuum bag, 16, and into
the vacuum hose, 7, the tray port, 3, punctures the thin wall of the
expanded vacuum bag, 16, and simultaneously forms an airtight seal
between the vacuum hose, 7, and the expanded vacuum bag, 16. This
assembly step is performed before the system is shipped to the user, but
may be repeated by the user if the original vacuum bag, 16, is damaged
and must be replaced. A simple, compact, inexpensive, easy-to-install,
airtight connection is crucial for a practical home food vacuum packing
system because it affects both cost and user acceptance. Although there
are many ways of making an airtight connection between a hose and a
plastic bag, most use rubber seals, threaded connectors, and locking
components to join the parts. Such components not only add bulk and cost,
but also require users to be mechanically inclined and possess the tools
needed to carry out the assembly process. The assembly method illustrated
in FIG. 3 requires no gaskets, seals, or any other components or tools,
and can be easily performed by the average person. The user simply
inserts the tray port, 3, into the expanded vacuum bag, 16, and presses
it into the vacuum hose, 7, until it stops.

[0042]FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 provide views of the assembly before and after a
vacuum has been drawn on the system. FIG. 3 shows the filled re-sealable
bag, 17, resting on the vacuum tray, 1, inside the expanded vacuum bag,
16. FIG. 4 depicts the assembly after vacuuming. The collapsed vacuum
bag, 19, has compressed the collapsed filled re-sealable bag, 20, and
forced excess air from the collapsed filled re-sealable bag, 20, and
drawn the collapsed filled re-sealable bag, 20, toward the vacuum tray,
1.

[0043]FIG. 5 depicts an embodiment of the vacuum tray, 1, having an
inclined sealing shelf, 4, and tray ramp, 5. The angle of the inclined
sealing shelf, 4, is chosen to match the angle that collapsing bags make
with the vacuum tray, 1, to prevent collapsing bags from disrupting the
sealing process. Two vacuum slots, 21, are located on opposite sides of
the sealing shelf, 4, to provide air passages from the high-pressure side
of the vacuum tray, 1, to the tray port, 3. Without such vacuum slots,
21, a collapsing bag could prematurely shut off flow to the tray port, 3.

[0044]FIG. 6 shows the profile of the internal features of a vacuum tray,
1, having an inclined sealing shelf, 4. Since the cavity between the
sealing shelf, 4, and the tray port hole, 22, is empty, air may freely
flow between the high-pressure side of the vacuum tray, 1, and the tray
port hole, 22. The sealing shelf, 4, increases the mechanical strength of
the assembly and also minimizes disruption of the sealing process by
collapsing bags. In particular, a collapsing outer bag can separate the
two halves of the inner re-sealable bag seal. When this happens the inner
re-sealable bag will not be sealed closed and the vacuum operation will
not be successful. The inclined sealing shelf, 4, places the re-sealable
bag seal on a plane that better matches the plane of the collapsing outer
bag and thereby minimizes relative displacements of the two halves of the
re-sealable bag seal.

[0045]FIG. 7 shows the preferred embodiment of the invention for
re-sealable bags that don't have zippers. This embodiment allows the
vacuum tray, 1, to be used with any size outer bag because the vacuum
tray, 1, fits in the corner of the outer bag, and the tray frame, 2, is
open on one end. The corner fit and the open tray frame, 2, allows the
outer bag to collapse around the vacuum tray, 1, in the same way,
independent of the size of the outer bag. The embodiment shown in FIG. 7
also features a channel, 21, that controls how the outer bag collapses
around the seals of non-zipper re-sealable bags. Specifically, it
constrains the outer bag to collapse in a uniform way onto the inclined
sealing shelf, 4. The channel is formed by one end of the tray frame, 2,
and an inclined arm, 23. The arm, 23, is structurally reinforces with a
flange, 25 that prevents the arm, from deflecting under the forces caused
by the vacuum. There are gaps between the top surface of the tray base,
26, and the bottom of the arm, 23; and between the upper surface of the
sealing shelf, 4, and the edge of the arm, 23, to allow the re-sealable
bag to slide onto the sealing shelf, 4, without being obstructed by the
arm, 23. The vacuum slot 21, on the edge of the sealing shelf, 4,
provides an additional vacuum path between the tray port hole, 22, and
the seal of the re-sealable bag. Users operate the device by partially
closing the re-sealable bag; then sliding the unsealed portion of the
re-sealable bag under the arm, 23, and onto the sealing shelf, 4. The
vacuum and bag-removal steps are the same as for other embodiments of the
invention.

[0046]FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of the invention designed to work with
re-sealable bags that incorporate zippers in the sealing mechanism. This
embodiment of the invention is similar in construction to the embodiment
shown in FIG. 7, and works with any size outer bag. The main difference
is that the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 features a zipper flap, 29, that
slides the zipper shut as the outer bag collapses. The zipper flap
consists of a spring hinge, 28, and a plate, 30, bonded together. The
spring hinge, 28, fits into a recess on the closed end of the tray frame,
2, and is protected from the collapsing bag. The spring hinge may be made
of rubber or some other elastic material that restores the zipper flap,
20, to a straight position after the re-sealable bag is removed from the
vacuum tray, 1. There is a gap between the top surface of the tray base,
26, and the bottom of the arm, 23, that allows users to slide the zipper
re-sealable bag into the bottom of the channel, 21. Users operate the
device by partially closing the zipper re-sealable bag; leaving only
about a quarter of an inch open; then sliding the unsealed portion of the
zipper re-sealable bag under the arm, 23, and between the top guide, 27,
and the bottom guide, 28. The top guide, 27, and the bottom guide, 28,
not only help guide the end of the zipper re-sealable bag into the
correct position, and also help prevent buckling of the seal as the
zipper is automatically moved to the closed position. As the outer bag
collapses, the plate, 30, is forced into the channel, 21, formed by the
arm, 23, and the closed end of the tray frame, 2. This movement of the
plate, 30, causes it to impinge upon the zipper of the zipper re-sealable
bag and slide the zipper shut. The open structure of the vacuum tray, 1,
affords ample paths for air to be extracted through the tray port hole,
22.

[0047]Numerous modifications to and alternative embodiments of the present
invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the
foregoing description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed
as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in
the art the best modes of carrying out the invention. Details of the
system may be varied substantially without departing from the spirit of
the invention and the exclusive use of all modifications which come
within the scope of the appended claims is reserved.